SSTI Digest

Two recent studies explored public perceptions of science and technology and higher education in the United States. The first study from the NSF National Science Board explores public perceptions and awareness of science and technology among American adults, and a separate report from New America analyzes attitudes on higher education, with a particular interest in the transition to online instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NSF National Science Board study explores three dimensions of public perceptions of science and technology, including Americans’ perceptions of science and technology, how well Americans understand scientific logic and research processes, and where Americans encounter science and get scientific information. The study found that public confidence in science generally remains high, and trust in medical scientists has increased since 2016. In 2020, about 43 percent of Americans expressed great confidence in medical scientists, a 19 percent increase from the 24 percent reported in 2016.

To expand the innovation capacity in the nation, the United States needs to leverage resources, creativity, and ingenuity from across all geographic regions. The National Science Foundation this week announced a new program in support of these efforts: the NSF Regional Innovation Engines, or NSF Engines program. This program encourages the creation of regional coalitions of industry, academia, government, nonprofits, civil society, and communities of practice to form partnerships that boost scientific and technological innovation and benefit the economy in a geographic region. Specifically, the NSF Engines program targets geographic areas in the U.S. that lack well-established innovation ecosystems. Awards of up to $160 million for up to 10 years ultimately will be provided. At SSTI’s Annual Conference this week, attendees learned more about this program from NSF representatives.

The NSF Engines program describes the growth of an innovation ecosystem with a five-phase model:

With practitioners, policymakers and leaders in the innovation field from more than 40 states, the SSTI Annual Conference dove deep into discussions on federal funding, income and geographical inequality, climate and water challenges, workforce issues and more this week. Members and new attendees were welcomed to Little Rock, with support from host partner, the Arkansas Research Alliance, and national and local sponsors.

The SSTI Annual Conference is known as the place for information sharing and making new connection in the innovation economy. University Research Corridor Executive Director Britany Affolter-Caine called participants the “best networked partner people on the planet.”

Thank you to all the speakers, sponsors and attendees, and stay tuned as we build out those discussions through future activities.

Discussion groups at the SSTI Annual Conference contribute to the shared understanding of the issues affecting regions across the country.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Convergence Accelerator intends to provide solutions with nationwide social impact at an accelerated pace. Recently, NSF announced the addition of three new research tracks for the 2022 cohort: Track H, Track I, and Track J. The latest research track topics for the NSF Convergence Accelerator include:

• Track H: Enhancing Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
• Track I: Sustainable Materials for Global Challenges
• Track J: Food & Nutrition Security

These tracks highlight current societal issues like enhancing the quality of life and employment access for persons with disabilities, encouraging environmental considerations in advancements for material science, and addressing nutritional needs for vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. Selected teams will participate in Phase 1, an accelerated 12-month planning period with up to $750,000 in grant funding. Following Phase 1, teams will conduct a formal NSF pitch and proposal evaluation, and selected groups will advance to Phase 2 to continue development. During Phase 2, teams may be eligible to receive up to $5 million in funding.

In response to an executive order signed last year by President Biden to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the federal workforce, many federal organizations are evaluating the resources and opportunities available to minority groups. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) are taking steps to grow strong relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) to provide more opportunities for students and faculty members and promote diversity in the federal workforce.

This edition of Useful Stats presents an SSTI analysis for the number of SBIR/STTR awards from 2011 to 2020 (the most recently available complete data), examining which agencies make the most awards in each state and how each state’s composition of awards compares to the national profile.

Two federal agencies made the greatest number of SBIR/STTR awards in nearly every state. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) accounted for the greatest number of SBIR/STTR awards in 35 states (including the District of Columbia), growing from 29 states as identified in a previous SSTI analysis for the 10-year period from 2009-2018. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) made the most awards in 15 states over the 10-years from 2011 to 2020, decreasing from the 22 states for the previously examined 10-year period, while the National Science Foundation made the most total awards in two states/territories for the combined 10-year period from 2011 to 2020.

A new working paper by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia used loan-level data from two fintech lenders, Funding Circle and LendingClub, to assess how the companies’ pre-pandemic lending patterns differed from those of traditional banks. The report finds fintechs contribute to a “more inclusive” financial system, expanding credit to more companies and at a lower cost.

The paper’s conclusions rely heavily on data from Funding Circle’s loans from 2016-2019. While the Fed describes LendingClub’s loans, the company had a smaller overall level of activity (about $540 million in loan volume), and so was not included in the empirical analyses.

Earlier today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released information on the $500 million pool of technical assistance (TA) funds authorized as part of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). The agency is allocating $200 million to the states, transferring $100 million to the U.S. Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), and retaining $200 million at this time. According to guidance released by Treasury, states can use their TA funds for legal, accounting and financial services.

The guidance defines these types of TA services somewhat broadly. In addition to covering licenses, financial statements and financial management, Treasury’s list of example eligible services names several activities that would particularly benefit innovation-focused companies. For example, permissible TA could include assisting with business formation, developing term sheets, or preparing presentations to investors.

The PitchBook-NVA Venture Monitor Q1 2022 reports that overall venture capital (VC) investment activity was down in Q1 2022, a change from the unprecedented growth seen quarterly through 2021. However, angel and seed stage financing remained strong. Additionally, deal activity for early-stage deals had a strong start in Q1 2022, with a total of 1,499 reported deals as of March 31. Late-stage deal activity also retained its rapid growth this quarter from the previous year.

Although overall VC investment activity was down in terms of deal value, some states saw growth in various metrics. New York has continued to see an increase in share of total deal count in the United States. The Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, Florida, region also saw a considerable increase in fundraising activity in Q1 2022.

Today, SSTI’s Innovation Advocacy Council published a letter to Congress urging the adoption of key tech-based economic development policies in the final version of competitiveness legislation that will soon be conferenced between the two chambers. Known as the U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness Act (USICA) in the Senate and the America COMPETES Act of 2022 in the House, these bills are proposing to authorize new activities to support science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship across numerous federal agencies. The Council has been talking with offices across the Hill about these proposals throughout the session and will continue to do so as the bill moves to conference.

Learn more about the Innovation Advocacy Council’s priorities for this legislation from the letter below (and in this pdf), and reach out to Jason Rittenberg (rittenberg@ssti.org) to add your support.

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Leader Schumer, and Leader McConnell:

Earlier this month, legislators introduced bipartisan and bicameral legislation to modify Opportunity Zones (OZs). The beneficial changes would include a reporting requirement, which is overdue for the program,[i] as well as decertification of relatively wealthy zones. However, the bill also introduces questionable changes, including extending the program by two years, shortening the holding period for one of the tax benefits by one year, adding zones with zero population in former industrial sites, and proposing to spend up to $1 billion on technical assistance. The bill also fails to address several fundamental concerns with OZs.

North Carolina is continuing to improve its innovation standing and its research and development enterprise continue to lead among other innovation metrics, according to a new state report. The North Carolina Board of Science, Technology, and Innovation published the eighth edition of its Tracking Innovation report. This report uses 39 measures of innovation capacity to evaluate North Carolina’s standing against other states in the nation. In this year’s edition, the report dives even further by summarizing key measures at the county level along with state-by-state standings on many measures.